Moscow has insisted successfully that no demands for the resignation of Syrian President Bashar Assad be made in the G8 Summit’s communiqué on the issue. The eight world powers have called for a political solution to the ongoing Syrian crisis, on Tuesday, June 18.

“We remain committed to achieving a political solution to the crisis based on a vision for a united, inclusive and democratic Syria,” the final summit communiqué reads. 

“We strongly endorse the decision to hold as soon as possible the Geneva conference on Syria,” adds the document, which does not outline Assad’s role in a post-crisis Syria.

Wrapping up their gathering in Northern Ireland, the G8 leaders also urged the Syrian government and the opposition to commit to destroying all organizations affiliated with Al-Qaeda.

The world powers confirmed that they are contributing almost $1.5 billion to meet humanitarian needs in Syria and in neighboring states.

“We also condemn in the strongest possible terms all human rights violations and abuses in Syria, committed by anyone, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians. We call on all sides to respect international humanitarian and human rights laws, noting the particular responsibility of the Syrian authorities in this regard,” the communiqué reads.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a news conference after the summit, underlined that decisions on arms supplies to the Syrian opposition based on unconfirmed reports that the Assad regime used chemical weapon further destabilize the situation.

“We do not have any facts of the use of such weapons by the Syrian government. I assure you, that by no means all the G8 members believe that they were used,” Russian President Vladimir Putin told a press conference on Thursday, June 20.

Arms supplies were not mentioned in the G8 final document. But the Group of Eight condemned the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria, calling on all parties involved in the conflict to allow United Nations inspectors to enter the country to investigate the claims.

“We are determined that those who may be found responsible for the use of chemical weapons will be held accountable,” the leaders stated.

The G8 also agreed that the results of this investigation would be turned over to the U.N. Security Council.

Putin denounced speculation that he was isolated at the G8 Summit – ‘one against all’ on the Syrian issue: “It’s absolutely wrong,” he stressed. “Believe me, it was a joint discussion between people who want to find common approaches to resolving the Syrian problem.”

On Monday June 17, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland “G7 plus one” – a criticism of Moscow for “supporting” the Syrian regime.

Just a day earlier, Harper noted that the G8 communiqué represents a real shift by Putin. He admitted that before the meeting, he feared Putin’s support for the Syrian regime would make an agreement difficult.

“We have a very different outcome and much better outcome than I thought we were going to have,” Harper told reporters following the summit.

Russia and the U.S. proposed holding an international peace conference on Syria, following a meeting in Moscow last month between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. The Geneva 2 talks would be a follow-up to last year’s international meeting in Switzerland that drafted a roadmap for peace in Syria, known as the Geneva Communiqué.

Initially, the conference was planned for the end of May, and was then postponed till mid-June; no definite date for the meeting has been scheduled yet.

The peace talks were postponed due to the difficulty of bringing all parties involved to the table. While the Syrian government approved of such a meeting, the opposition remains split on the matter.

The issue was raised again as Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Barack Obama met on the sidelines of the G8 Summit. The leaders agreed to push the sides of the two-year-long Syrian conflict to the negotiating table in Geneva.

“On some points, we still have a different stance, but we are united by an aspiration to prevent violence, to put an end to the growing number of victims, to solve the problem by peaceful means, including through negotiations at the international conference at Geneva,” Putin said.

U.S. President Obama and Russian President Putin meet at the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland. REUTERS

Obama decides to arm the rebels

Obama had authorized, on June 14, sending some U.S. weapons to Syrian rebels for the first time as a part of a new package of military support to the opposition in the fight to overthrow Assad.

The White House said earlier that Obama had approved direct military assistance to the beleaguered rebels but declined to give details or say whether any of it would be lethal equipment.

In response to the Obama administration’s decision, four senators introduced legislation on Thursday, June 20, that would bar the president from providing military aid to Syria’s rebels, saying the administration has provided too little information about what they see as a risky intervention.

The bill would prevent the Department of Defense and U.S. intelligence agencies from using any funds to support military, paramilitary or covert operations in Syria, directly or indirectly.

The bill’s sponsors – Democrats Tom Udall of New Mexico and Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Republicans Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky – expressed doubts about Washington’s ability to ensure weapons will not fall into the wrong hands, and called for debate in Congress before the country becomes more involved in Syria’s civil war.

Putin questioned the wisdom of Obama’s decision to arm Syria’s rebels, in a press conference on June 16, referring to an incident, where a rebel fighter ripped out the heart of a dead Assad soldier and bit it. 

“I believe you will not deny that one should hardly back those who kill their enemies and eat their organs. Do you want to support these people? Do you want to supply arms to these people?” Putin asked.

Meanwhile, a Gallup poll revealed, on June 17, that 54 percent of Americans do not approve of the Obama’s decision to send direct military aid to Syrian rebels, while 37 percent approve. (See Pew Research Center poll on page 2)

Saudi Arabia, a staunch opponent of Assad since early in Syria’s conflict, began supplying anti-aircraft missiles to rebels “on a small scale” about two months ago, a Gulf source said on Monday, June 17.

The shoulder-fired weapons were obtained mostly from suppliers in France and Belgium, the source said. France had paid for the transport of the weapons to the region.

The supplies were intended for General Salim Idriss, leader of the Supreme Military Council of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), who was still the kingdom’s main “point man” in the opposition, the source added.

The Gulf source said without elaborating that the kingdom had begun taking a more active role in the Syrian conflict in recent weeks due to the intensification of the conflict.

Idriss urged Western allies to supply anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles and to create a no-fly zone, saying if properly armed he could defeat Assad’s army within six months.

The FSA general said his forces urgently needed heavier weapons in the northern city of Aleppo, where Assad’s government has said its troops are preparing a massive assault.

Assad’s forces have made a slow but steady advance on rebels in the outskirts of Damascus, awaiting an anticipated battle for Syria’s economic capitol Aleppo in the north.

Opposition fighters once threatened Assad’s dominance of Damascus but are now struggling to repel his forces, who have been emboldened by winning the strategic town of Qusair and have help from Lebanese Hizbullah militants.

“The regime’s goal is to slowly bleed us until we are forced to surrender. They are advancing slowly to preserve their fighting force,” said Amran, an activist speaking by Skype from the ring of suburbs known as the Eastern Ghouta.

Over the past two months, rebels around Damascus lost nearly all their supply lines and are struggling to get enough food, let alone weapons, into the eastern and southern outskirts of the capital. 

–TAAN, RT, Reuters